The Charmed Life: 2013

Saturday, December 7, 2013

The "I Love Clay" Blog Hop and a Promise of Spring

The lovely Lisa Lodge, of A Grateful Artist fame is hosting a blog hop: the I Love Clay Blog Hop. Much as I love clay, I find it challenging to work with. Big un-wrappable holes! Pendants that defy bracelets! Dimensions outside my comfort zone!

But I cannot resist Lisa's hops. So I signed up.

This is what Lisa sent me.

Big un-wrappable holes! Pendants that defy bracelets! Dimensions outside my comfort zone! Add to that: Colors I avoid! Czech glass that is un-wrappable!

But the pendant is really pretty. It was created by Marla's Mud. And the greens remind me of a distant spring.

I was still pondering when one of the cats trotted in proudly, bearing a loudly cheeping bird. I chased the cat around the house until she dropped said bird. It was still alive and did not seem injured. Merely traumatized. It would have stories to tell its feathered therapist in years to come.

But right now there was the problem of what to do with the bird, because if I set it down outside, Little Miss Predator would surely snatch it up again. So I put it in the aviary, to give the little guy time to recover.

(He's actually much better looking than this, but he'd just suffered a harrowing experience.) By morning he was looking far more chipper. He almost looked as happy as my happy little birds from Beady Eyed Bunny. And I recalled how, in Lisa's last Blog Hop (Lampwork and Clay Blog Hop), Toltec Jewels used a Beady Eyed Bunny bird in a brilliant way.

I thought my birds would work beautifully with my beads from Lisa. (I also thought that a Beady Eyed Bunny Bird should appear somewhere in each blog hop, kind of like Alfred Hitchcock appearing in each of his films.)

So I put my birds together with my beads and pendant and assorted bead box treasures
for A Promise of Spring necklace.

I Heard a Bird Sing

Oliver Herford

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

A magical thing

And sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to Spring

Than we were in September,”

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

Now make like my rescued bird a hop to see what my other beady friends have created.

Our hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

You are here: Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyns Creations

Bonnie Coursolle, Jasper's Gems

Dolores Raml, Crafty D's Creations

Therese Frank, Therese's Treasures

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Mowse Doyle, Mowse Made This

Janine Lucas, Esfera Travel Blog

Karin Grosset Grange, Ginkgo et Coquelicot

Kelli Nelson, Zenith Jade Creations

Ann Schroeder, Bead Love

Jasvanti Patel, Jewelry by Jasvanti

Candida Castleberry, Sugar Spun Beadworks

Robin Reed, Artistry HCBD

Katrina Taylor, I Wanna Go Out

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Have a Haunted Howling Hallowmas

Did you ever ask yourself...

How does the Addams family decorate for Christmas?

How do witches festoon the tree?

What does the Mummy hang in the window at Christmastime?

What festivities do skeletons observe?

What does the Werewolf bring as a hostess gift at the holidays?

Wonder no more. Now you, too, can decorate just like your favorite ghoul.

Available on etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/cornerstoregoddess?section_id=10071217

Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Beads of Peace and Harmony Meet the Lampwork and Clay Blog Hop

The lovely Lisa Lodge has launched another blog hop, with bead packs of lampwork and clay. I needed a challenge.

I got it. I received these beautiful beads... with REALLY big holes for my usual bag of tricks. And they were so beautiful that they needed to be set off in interesting ways.

I paged through books of designs looking for guidance.

I tried new techniques with laughable results.

Finally I turned to my stash.

Yes. I have too many beads.

And a story started to emerge, and from the story, three new pieces: asymmetrical earrings, a necklace, and a pendant.

~~~~~~

Once upon a time there was a box of beads and they could not get along.

"We come from the sea, so we are better than you," said the beach glass.

"We lived deep in the earth, alongside the Morlocks," said the gemstone beads. "Clearly we are superior."

"We're nuts!" said the nut beads. "We don't care."

"We're recycled glass. We're morally superior," said the recycled glass beads.

And so it went, with all the beads arguing and rolling on the ground.

Finally a bead of lampwork glass spoke up. "Can't we all just get along?" she asked.

This sounded vaguely familiar to the beads, so they stopped rolling for a moment to listen.

"It is true we come from all the corners of the earth," she continued.

"The earth doesn't have corners," muttered the polymer clay beads.

But the lampwork glass bead pressed on. "And from the seven seas... and lots of oceans, too."

"Hath not a bead holes?" she asked. "Hath not a bead edges, drill marks, mandrel scratches, finishes... blasted in the same kilns, tossed by the same waters, dug out from the same earth?"

"If you drop us, do we not roll away? If you string us, do we not make harmony with the beads beside us? If you wrap us too tightly, do we not crack?"

"If you discard us, do we not trip the family dog? If you string us, are we not strung? If you wire us, are we not wired? If you wrap us, are we not... um... wrapped?"

The beads murmured and rolled amongst themselves. They considered the words of the lampwork bead. "She has a point!" said the pearls.

"No, that's just a flaw," said the lampworks. "Happens to the best of us."

"She could be right," said the pressed glass beads.

"I don't know. I'm nuts! said the nut beads.

But as they looked at each other (through beady little eyes) they had to agree that, no matter what their origins, they had a lot in common.

And so, without further ado, they rolled together, joined holes, and decided to bead all that they could bead.

And they all lived in pieces of harmony until the next time they had the same discussion. In fact, they are all up for auction to provide aid for the Phillipines. Check out the auction on my FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/Cornerstoregoddess. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the asymmetrical earrings, the necklace, and the pendant will go to International Relief Teams, who rate in the top 1% of all charities in terms of financial performance, accountability and transparency.

Now go see what the other beads are up to. Here's the hop list. And remember: bead all that you can bead.

Your hostess: Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Laurie Vyselaar, Lefthand Jewelry

Annette Rivers, MamaOwl's Mess

Karin King, The Sparkle Things Blog

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

Mimi Gardner, Baubles, Beads and Other Curiosities

Dee Alcalde, Agape Creations Jewelry

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Lori Jean Poppe, Lorillijean Creative Corner

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Leah Mifflin Tees, My Beady Little Eyes

Terri Wlaschin, Dances in Fog

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, Sharyl's Jewelry

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Linda Aspenson Bergstrom, TBD

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Judy Turner, Silver Rains

Gloria Allen, Gloria Allen Designs

Kathleen Douglas, Washoe Kat's

Connie Tipton, TBD

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Andrea Glick-Zenith, ZenithJade Creations

Michele Dotson, Star Jewels

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Jennifer Clifford, TBD

Kathleen Breeding, 99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall

Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

Loretta, Loretta's Boutique

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyns Creations

Shirley Moore, Beads and Bread

Bonnie Coursolle, Jasper's Gems

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Bats Are Creepy, Bats Are Scary, Bats Do Not Seem Sanitary

The Bat
By Frank Jacobs

Bats are creepy; bats are scary;
Bats do not seem sanitary;
Bats in dismal caves keep cozy;

Bats remind us of Lugosi;
Bats have webby wings that fold up;
Bats from ceilings hang down rolled up;

Bats when flying undismayed are;
Bats are careful; bats use radar;

Bats at nighttime at their best are;
Bats by Batman unimpressed are!

Bats on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/search?q=cornerstoregoddess%20bat&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US

Monday, October 28, 2013

The Pied Piper of Leftover Candy: The Halloween/Day of the Dead Blog Hop

You've all heard of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a 13th century exterminator who rid the town of its rats by playing his pipe and leading them into the river. (No. This isn't him.)

When the mayor stiffed the Pied Piper for the job, the Pied Piper also relieved the town of all its children.

This is the Pied Piper of leftover Halloween candy.

Due to the lack of prehensile thumbs (and the fact that he is tone deaf), he doesn't play a pipe to lead the leftover candy away. He uses his charms and some signals he picked up when he learned to ride a bicycle.

After all the "good" candy in the Halloween sack has been gobbled down, there always remain some less tempting treats.

Many of those are still consumed in the post Halloween days, and might be thought of as training for Thanksgiving gluttony.

But inevitably, there are pieces that are never eaten. The bag is stuffed in some cupboard, perhaps behind the half-finished bottle of Peppermint Schnapps, where it gathers dust and ants and other creatures for which a Pied Piper might be useful.

The Pied Piper of Leftover Candy arrives by night and gives a secret signal to the once-licked lollipops and hardened bubble gum.

Then the leftover candy rises up and follows him.

He works through the night, much like Santa Claus, collecting the uneaten, the unwanted, the untasty, the simply forgotten.

And where do you think he takes them?

Nope. Not Candyland. That's a game, not a destination.

He takes them to a long-ago faraway abandoned old candy factory...

...where they enter rehab and discuss abandonment issues with other leftover candy.

The reminisce about the old sugar cane plantation where they were born.

The Pied Piper of Leftover Candy doesn't just appear after Halloween. He has been known to lead other leftover candy to to sanctuary and a place to renew sugar content.

The rest of the year he likes to put his feet up...

...or just relax.

The Pied Piper of Leftover Candy can be a Halloween ornament or a seasonal pendant. Or you might just need a Pied Piper after the holiday. He was made with lampwork glass beads created by Gus of Florida Lampwork, wire wrapped with sterling silver, and set off with Czech seed beads, cat's eye beads, and a Swarovski crystal.

He will be available at the EHAG Emporium on October 31st, at 9 PM EST.

He is part of the Suburban Girl Halloween/Day of the Dead Jewelry Blog Hop.

He can lead you to the other exciting entries in the blog hop. Follow him:

Diana Ptaszynski http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com

Staci Smith http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/

Kathleen Breeding http://99bobotw.blogspot.com

Sue Kennedy http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Dianne Miller http://www.artbydianne.blogspot.com

Lisa Liddy http://www.lisaliddy.wordpress.com

Toltec Jewels http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com

Linda Landig http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com

Laura Medeiros http://Www.zoeowyn.blogspot.com

Veralynne Malone http://www.veradesigns.blogspot.com

Lynn Jobber http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.co.uk

Michelle McCarthy http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com